Head Turners At Showstoppers: NAB 2016

By: Marjorie Galas

Looking something like a small cooler that could house a can of soda, the Fox Fury Nomad N56 bobbed in a canister of water. One of the many new products on display at the 2016 NAB ShowStoppers event, FoxFury’s design really caught my eye.

Thomas Osborne, Photo, Video and Film Sales Manager took time to fully highlight the product’s value. The 3,700 lumens light has low, medium and high intensities that adjust easily with the touch of a button.  The system is powered by a rechargeable Li-ion battery system, is tripod mountable, has remote activation and rotates 45 degrees.  At only 4.5 pounds, the N56 is perfect to use on location – any location.

NAB is a show that boasts the cream of the crop in lighting, sound and camera technologies of all kinds. Those companies that take part in the Showstoppers event have the opportunity to present their products before they get lost in the expansive sea of the show floor.  In addition to the clever lighting designs FoxFury presented, there were a few other products at this year’s Showstoppers that caught my attention.   Start-up business Aerotain had a clever, and safer, option to a drones.  As described by co-founder and project leader Andreas Schaffner, the orb – something like a fully controllable helium balloon measuring ten feet with a limited amount of costume-designed shapes  – was filled with enough helium gas to carry its weight.  It was noiseless and could quickly cover the distance of a hockey or football field.  Clearly being marketed for large scale events, such as sporting and concerts, Schaffner pointed out that the surface of the device could be used as a secondary projection screen, and it was safe to touch.  No more loosing hands to entertainers grabbing drones out of the sky!

Gridd was on hand with their ultra-sturdy and extremely streamlined plate components that safely manage any type of cording used on location. Kelvin G. Joseph, Specifications Advisor, explained the units are designed to withstand tremendous weight – say that of a video truck – and come in every type of size and angle.  A complete room could be outfitted with Gridd modules.

Lookat, “Your production house in the cloud,” was presenting their production collaboration software. Co-Founder and CRO Inbal Voitiz wisely highlighted the producer was the first workflow platform for VR productions with its review and collaboration capabilities for 360 and stereoscopic video.  Comments from designated viewers of a product correspond directly to the footage – the product also automatically compares any two versions of video and repositions comments within the newly edited version.

VR was also a key feature of Sphericam. Jeffrey Martin, Founder and CEO showcased the Sphericam 2 – the world’s first 360 VR camera that is capable of self-stitching and live streaming 4K video in real-time.    The camera features a global shutter capable of shooting at 60 frames per a second.  The compact camera, just shy of the size of a baseball, will be available this summer.

Worthy of note were the 7 MSEC Delay wireless microwave transmission devices presented by ABon Air as well as the multitude of data storage options and hard drives created by G-Technology. Keep an eye out for Playon as well – they created an app that acts like a modern day VCR that will record your favorite programs.

“The copyright standard was set when the networks tried to block their broadcasts from being recorded by VCRs. The courts dismissed the case stating there was no copywrite violation for personal use,” said Jeff Lawrence, CEO of Playlist. “Playon falls under the same guidelines.”